Sponsors
The bill increases safety for residents and staff of federally funded shelters by excluding people required to register as sex offenders, but at the cost of increasing unsheltered homelessness, operational and enforcement burdens on shelters (and taxpayers), potential criminalization of vulnerable people, and uneven access to services.
Residents and staff of federally funded domestic violence and homeless shelters face reduced risk of contact with individuals required to register as sex offenders because the bill bars those registrants from being served by such shelters.
Nonprofit and local-government shelters that comply with the exclusion rules retain federal funding, helping preserve resources for their intended low-income and vulnerable client populations.
People required to register as sex offenders who are homeless will be denied access to federally funded shelters, increasing their risk of unsheltered homelessness and related harms.
Homeless individuals who enter shelters or fail to notify staff about registry status could face criminal penalties or incarceration, disproportionately harming vulnerable populations.
Federally funded shelters risk losing federal funds if they fail to identify or exclude covered registrants, and the bill effectively delegates enforcement and compliance costs to shelters (and taxpayers), reducing funds available for direct services.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Bars federally funded domestic violence and homeless shelters from serving people required to register as sex offenders, requires registrant notification, and creates criminal penalties and funding penalties for violations.
Introduced February 20, 2026 by Nancy Mace · Last progress February 20, 2026
Prohibits domestic violence and homeless shelters that receive federal funds from providing services or shelter to people required to register on the National Sex Offender Registry, and makes shelters that violate the rule ineligible for federal funds the following fiscal year. It also requires registered sex offenders to notify shelter operators if they enter a covered shelter, bars them from using covered shelters except to get information about alternatives, and creates criminal penalties (fines and/or up to 5 years imprisonment) for knowingly entering or failing to notify; the notification and criminal-penalty provisions take effect 180 days after enactment. The bill defines key terms (covered shelter, covered sex offender, National Sex Offender Registry, non-covered shelter, homeless, etc.) with cross-references to existing federal laws and ties enforcement to loss of federal funding for covered shelters that violate the prohibition.